Impact of physical therapy intervention on patient-centered outcomes in a community hospice

The purpose of this project was to evaluate the impact of physical therapy (PT) intervention on patient-centered outcomes in a community hospice setting. In this prospective study, 164 consecutive hospice admissions were screened in weekly interdisciplinary team (IDT) meetings during a 1-year period. Fifty-two subjects met the inclusion criteria, and 47 of these were referred for PT. Of the 47 patients who received a PT referral, 26 received a PT consult and intervention, and 12 completed both pre- and post-PT intervention assessments. The Patient-Specific Functional Scale (PSFS) was used to identify and quantify patient-centered outcomes for PT intervention. The results of this study indicated that the 11 of 12 subjects made a clinically significant change in at least 1 of their targeted outcomes. Nine different types of intervention were provided for 7 patient-identified problem areas.